


Faded

by TheChanceyColborn



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 08:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6797245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheChanceyColborn/pseuds/TheChanceyColborn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Astrid Hofferson was on a mission. Six years ago, a plane crash tore her boyfriend out of her life. His body was never found, and rufusing to believe he died, she begins to look for him. All she has left, is a measly, faded photograph. Will she find him before the memories fade away forever? Hiccstrid ModernAU, post apocalyptic world. Note: based off of MV for Alan Walker-Faded.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faded

Faded...

22 year old Astrid Hofferson looked out the window of her home and let out a sigh. Her 'home', a crumbling apartment building abandoned decades ago, fit in perfectly with the crumbling city around it. She took a small piece of paper from her pocket and gazed at it wistfully. The paper, the only shred of hope she ever had of finding that boy again. It was a picture, a picture of him, standing in the foreground of a large estate. That boy, her first love, the only one to ever truly capture her heart and imagination, was what had kept her going through the past 6 months. The hope of being reunited, being with him once again. She frowned and put the paper in her pocket, packed her meager belongings, and headed out. The once beautiful city lay out before her, like the fading hope in her heart. This city, the city that had brought them together and then painfully separated them.

As she walked across the care deprived cityscape, she thought of all the memories she had made with that boy. She had been so happy with him, she knew him only by his nickname. Hiccup. That one name. The one name that made her heart beat fast, made her press on. She could hear his voice, feel his touch once more. It had been so long. Far too long. So long ago, the memories were beginning to feel fake, like a fantasy. She wondered sometimes if the hope was all just a dream, a figment of her imagination.

"Where are you now Hiccup?" she thought out loud. "Did you die, were you taken to heaven? Gods you always had such a kind heart. Is it just my imagination, some cruel dream replaying over and over?"

She had only this fading hope to live for. If she could not find him here…, no. She would find him, if it took her months, years, or decades. She often thought of giving up, of just quitting right where she stood, driving a piece of rebar from the rubble through her heart, but kept going.

She explored the city, searching for clues, anything that would aid her search for her beloved. In each abandoned building, each old warehouse, nothing. Gods she remembered the days. The days they would explore, just as she was doing now. Exploring each warehouse, stealing useless old junk that looked cool at the time. Dodging security, hiding from the police. The memories were fading, fast. The memories, the memories of times long gone. The memory of them sharing a loving embrace under the moonlight on a roof of an apartment building, which had long since demolished. She dreaded the day when full insanity would finally overtake her, leaving all the memories to the dust. She had loved him. He had loved her. But still he left. Not willingly, but he left.

She exited the urban area of the city and came to the outskirts, to the park where they met. Most everything was the same. The old stone bench, the old coy pond, the old oak, which had since fallen over, still remained. She sat on the bench, and was overtaken by a flashback. A lanky boy, with a freckled face, dressed in a navy blue hoodie, with torn jeans and sneakers sat down next to her. He turned to her and commented how nice the day was. From there the conversation progressed. He was a country boy, trying to make a living in the city. He said his apartment address, 364 B Alan Street. She snapped out of her reverie suddenly. His address, where he lived. She had been there. Hurriedly, with new resolve, she ran back into the city.

As she neared his old apartment building, she took notice of how much it had changed. A once proud and clean building, it had become no better than the rest of the dead city around it. She took a flare from her backpack, and lit it. As she entered the building, she remembered the nice paintings and colored carpet it had. They remained, but were ragged, and stained from being exposed to the elements. She took a look at the now barely legible nameplates and found 364 B, third floor. She climbed the stairs, and took stock of the hallway appearance. The originally had been painted white, with a green trim. Now they looked downright horrible, with graffiti painted over them. As she arrived at B unit, she tiptoed, feeling like a sinner on sacred ground. What remained of the room was not very enlightening. His old keyboard and turntables remained, along with a piece of paper contained in his old desk. It read simply "I must leave." Discouraged, she decided to hunker down for the night, and rest. She rolled out her sleeping bag and tried to sleep. As she slept, she dreamt. She dreamed about many things. It started with her abusive foster father, throwing her out on the street once she turned 16, to that afternoon on the bench, meeting Hiccup, his apartment, his kind heart, his chastity, refusing to act on their urges. It eventually came back to an airplane trip he was going on. He wanted to meet a music label executive, but the plane went down soon after takeoff, and no body was ever found. She was convinced he had never died. She eventually went on a long journey to find him. It was then that she woke up, drenched in sweat. She finally remembered where she needed to go.

She was walking again. A long, never ending road stretched out before her for miles. It seemed that she would never get there. But ever onward, she trudged on. There were no cars, this piece of Earth had not seen life for a very long time, and in showed. Weeds growing through the asphalt, the old abandoned cars every so often only dampened her mood. The hot sun soon became too much, and she rested under an oak tree. She pulled the picture out of her pocket and analyzed it once more. The old cornfields around it, the nice brick driveway, their smiling faces. The days the seemed so far bygone. Six years. Six long, hard years without him. And all she had to find him was this one measly, faded picture. What she realized was that this place was too far, she would not get there at the rate she was going. She needed to find a faster way. And that way presented itself, for there, nary 1000 yards away lay a train track. The rails gleamed silver, a sign that it was oft-used. All she had to do was wait for a train, and hitchhike. "Not too difficult right?" Astrid asked herself.

It turned out that the train that did come was a livestock train. It stank to high heaven and made it difficult to breathe through the stench. Still she used every bit of energy she had in her 5'7" frame to haul herself aboard. Exhausted, she pulled open a grain car, closed the door, and passed out right there.

She woke up, the train's braking system having woken her with its squealing. Stealing a glance out the hatch, she smiled for the first time in a long while. "We're close now. But how to I get out of here?" She cautiously opened the door, not breathing, and jumped down. She ran into the brown meadow, hoping she was not spotted. Luckily for her, the engineer was too tired to notice anything. He simply got out of the train, grabbed a Coke from a vending machine, got back in, and continued on. She stole a glance at the machine, but decided against it. She looked around, and noticed an old abandoned factory. The explorer in her took over, and she decided to enter.

The factory was abandoned, but some things remained. It was one of those things that caught her eye. The employee of the month awards were still there, damaged by the elements. One of them read "Hiccup Haddock, Employee of the Month, January 2010". She recognized that face immediately. Shaken, she rushed to an abandoned office to recover from the shock. The pulled the hoodie off her head, and sat there with her face in her hands. She recovered, tears streaking her face. She pulled the hood back on, and continued exploring. She eventually found the main office, with employee records in it. She found his, but a name and description of his personality was found. Frustrated, she threw the record to the floor and exited.

She continued, down towards the river. This river, this powerful force had cut a valley right through the barren landscape. In it, were houses, built on the edge of the cliffs, had since fallen into the river due to a landslide. The old bridge had collapsed as well. Desperate, she noticed the pipeline that traversed the river. The support structure seemed to be in good condition. Ignoring the "Authorized Personnel Only" sign, she climbed the ladder and balanced herself on the pipe and crossed the river. As she climbed back down, she noticed a certain chill in the air, as if someone were there. It was then that she noticed that across the field, lay a building. Old and abandoned, but familiar…somehow. She pulled the photo from her pocket and compared them. She heart jumped. They looked alike, with the overall shape of the house identical to the picture. Excited, she sprinted towards the house, eager to find whatever lay there.

As she walked up the front steps, she noted how old and rotted the house seemed. When she knocked on the door, it fell in. She explored the downstairs, then the upstairs. As she explored the attic, she heard footsteps downstairs. Cautiously, she tiptoed down the stairs, and looked at the dining room. There, sitting at the table with a blank expression, was the boy of her dreams. Hiccup. Her Hiccup. She walked towards the table and sat down across from him. He looked up blankly.

"And who might you be?" he asked. She was surprised. "You don't remember me?" she asked him.

He sat there thinking. He looked at her, thought some more. Then his face lit up with a look of recognition. "No. Freaking. Way. Could it be? After all these years?" He was on the verge of tears. "Come here, Astrid. Come here and let me feel this and not let this be a dream."

She walked slowly over to him. He reached out tentatively and touched her face. A tear rolled down his face. "Oh my gods. It's you. It's really truly you. I don't believe it." He started bawling, coming to his knees. She embraced him, her emotion finally taking over. "It's me Hiccup. I'm finally here." He looked at her. "I thought I lost you forever. The hope was faded," he told her tearfully. "I thought so too. But here we are." They rose shakily to their feet.

"I love you." They shared a kiss that lasted for seemingly hours. When they finally pulled apart, they both laughed. "I think it's time we caught up on a few things." said Hiccup. "I think so too." They both sat down on the sofa, telling stories. Six long years of pent up emotions came rushing out on that sofa. They both shared a smile that they had not shared in six years. They were finally reunited.

The old photo lay there on the table, and did not seem as faded anymore. They kept it, as a reminder of how close they came to losing each other. The hope faded, and then it was rekindled. The future was finally bright for the two of them. And they wouldn't have it any other way.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> This work was originally posted to FanFiction. I would personally like to thank you for taking the time to read my story. It means a lot. Thank you, Chancey out.


End file.
